Rise To Power
by axleonex
Summary: Hotsreak is back, and he's more Powerful then ever. Follow him as he takes over Dakota City. Includes OC characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This my first Static Shock Fanfic. I kinda consider this practice until I can redo my Teen titans fanfic, but I still plan on doing my best here, so feel free to criticize this with everything you've got! Please note: All OC's mentioned are not owned by me, the ones I'll use in this fanfic are from a deviant-art user called "Amaze-balls" (Search "Static Shock OC", it'll be called "The good the bad the sexy"). The drawings are great and I really wanted to use them.I didn't ask for permission because I lack the confidence to ask, "What if my fanfic isn't good enough for them!" T_T. Anyways, I hope the creator will understand, and I really hope I got the characters right from the descriptions I read. Anyways, time for the story!**

**Prologue**

XXX

The full moon can't be seen over the city lights. Even the loudest yells can't be heard over the sound of cars traveling this weekend night. Stars can't be seen, and crimes can be ignored, anything can happen in the crazy city known as Dakota City.

At the slum-side in an abandoned warehouse, a black shadow fights for control over it's body. Shrunken down to human size, it doesn't remember whom nor what it is, all it knows is that the voices screaming inside it's head have become too much to live with.

"_Get out of me!" _it yells. The scream echoes with two different voices.

"_This is all your fault! If you had just-" _The shadow slams it's face against the concrete wall, not caring that the building shakes.

As the black creature slams it's head against the wall, it's body begins to vibrate. The shadow looks at it's shaking hands, and within seconds, as the shaking intensifies, it explodes. Black muck flies all over the walls, and under the muck, two teenage boys wonder where they are.

One of them,the Caucasian boy, groans. "what the hell?". He rubs his head. _Migraines, _he think. Just when he's ready to stand himself up, he sees a black shadow pouncing at him. The boy's arms light up with fire. He spirals it towards the shadow, "Back off Ebon!" Ebon gets thrown back by the fire. "That bang baby juice gave more power than ever, if you know what's good for you, you'd better stay out of my way." The boy stands up with his flames on fire and walks towards the incapacitated shadow.

Ebon tries to get up, but the light from Hotstreak's brightly lit arms causes Ebon's skin to burn. Even though the flames don't touch him, he can still feel the light draining away his dark force he calls life. "Damnit Francis" he yells, "What'd you do to me?"

Francis laughs at the shadow, "I'm not the one who broke the vial of gas. You could've walked away and let me have what I wanted." Francis stands in front of Ebon and crouches down to his face level, "You just couldn't let someone else have it, could you?"

Ebon mumbles, "I was giving you a share, you could've worked for me!"

Francis stands up and laughs. "I'm not talking about the powers, I'm talking about _the power, _I'm done taking order from you. I'm done taking orders from anyone!"

Franci's body lights up further. The building's temperature rises up like that of a supernova. Ebon's body begins to dwindle away.

Francis smiles, "Lights out Ebon."

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

**Day**** 1: Supernova **

_"Just when I've set up my new life, my old one comes back" - Dick Grayson_

XXX

Another year, another class. Most students by the second week of school would complain about the homework they're given. Hanabi Mikamoto, on the other hand, despises the thought of making up excuses. When the bell rings, other students stall four of the five minutes they have to talk about the latest drama, gossip, or news floating around in school. Although Hanabi can be seen as an expert on the subjects, she refuses to waste her precious time on trivial things such as high school drama. _I'm so much better than this, _she thinks, whenever the latest scandal arise in her school.

As other students do they're best to be late, this Japanese brunette calmly opens her locker and takes out a chemistry textbook. After closing the locker, she puts her materials in her backpack and silently walks to her next class. She doesn't expect anything unusual could occur, until she feels someone crushing her shoulder.

"Ow!" Hanabi mutters. She looks behind her to see an african american girl smiling with her hand on her shoulder.

The girl, Shanice, instantly apologizes, "Sorry," She says, "I'm used to using my normal strength with you since... Y'know."

It was a topic Hanabi didn't want to discuss, a piece of the past she's been trying to forget. Two weeks ago, Hanabi and Shenice were equal in strength. Shenice had the powers of super-strength because of her genetic makeup, while Hanabi had super-strength because of the big bang. Both were able to jump across buildings, crash through walls, or leap twenty feet into the air. They'd even had grudge matches testing they're throwing strength against one another (It always ended in a draw, ending whenever Virgil and Richie complained that it wasn't "arousing enough".)

All that changed when Hanabi had her power cured. Dr. Todd had released the bang baby cure into the city's air, causing all bang-babies to return to their normal human forms. Although he did so with good intentions, it also cured the superheroes of their superpowers as well. Shenice kept her powers because she wasn't a bang baby. Virgil and Richie managed to get they're power back while trying to stop the second big bang, Hanabi wasn't so lucky.

"It's alright" Hanabi said while massaging her shoulder, "the damage isn't permanent"

Shenice moves in front of Hanabi and starts walking backwards with her hand grabbing at her backpack straps. "Hey, about the homecoming parade-"

"No."

"but I really think a renaissance theme-"

Hanabi shakes her head. "Shenice, I understand that _you _like you're ideas, but you have to think about what other people want."

_Cold_, Shenice thought. Hanabi sighs. Knowing how bitter her words came out, she asks,"You'll still help us after school right?"

Shenice nods her head. "Of course"

"And no more renaissance ideas?"

Shenice cringes at the thought of having to keep her ideas to herself. "How would you feel about a japanese theme?"

(facepalms). "Jenice!"

"fine. No more ideas."

"Thank you, when we need them I'll ask for you, alright?"

Shenice nods in agreement. Still not watching where she's going, her back hits Richie.

"Yellop." Richie says. Shenice turns around in embarrassment.

"Sorry!" she says, "did I hurt you?"

Richie nods his head. "Sorry, but It'll take a lot more than a pretty lady to hurt me."

Jenice blushes. Hanabi rolls her eyes, she still wonders if Shenice knows that Richie is gay.

"Are you guys ready for that test?" Virgil asks, appearing next to Richie.

Shenice snaps at Virgil and cries, "What test?". Hanabi puts down her backpack and starts digging through her papers.

Virgil replies, "The one Mrs. Ryan has been talking about all week."

Shenice's face turns pale. "agh... I didn't... I wasn't..."

Richie teases her, "You weren't paying attention in class were you? Tsk, Tsk, Tsk."

"That's not fair, You have a superbrain, you don't have superpowers anymore, and you..." She points to Virgil. "What do you have?"

Virgil hides his face away in shame. Hanabi answers, "He doesn't have anything."

"Hey!" Virgil yells.

Hanabi hands Shenice a small pack of papers. "Honestly Virgil, I was able to help you guys out and_ still_ pass all my classes, I don't understand what's so hard with paying attention in class."

Shenice takes the packet of papers. "What's this?" She asks.

Hanabi replies, "My notes, I know you have study hall next period, use that time to study for last period."

Shenice's eyes glimmer with hope. She quickly hugs Hanabi tightly. "Thank you!" She yells.

Hanabi struggles to breathe. "Shenice... Please... Stop... My ribs..."

Shenice lets go of her. "Right. Sorry. I'm gonna go study now. See you guys after school!"

"and for the record." Virgil says to Hanabi "I'm a full-time super-hero, you were only a part-time superhero"

Virgil's comment doesn't bother Hanabi, she knows better than to take a boy's comment seriously. She answers, "still no excuse." and walks into class.

"She's got a point." Richie says, following her into class.

Before Virgil can say anything, the bell rings. Class is in session.

XXX

Downtown Dakota city was in Chaos. Both old and New bang babies wreck havoc across the streets due to their recent prison escape. Authorities have done they're best to keep the bang babies within the prison grounds, but have failed miserably. Now, they're focusing on evacuating civilians from the area. Sure, a large number of bang babies used this opportunity to hide, but a larger number of them are using their new freedom for _payback_. Not against anyone in particular, but payback towards everyone whose responsible for their imprisonment. This includes the police, the wardens, and most importantly, Static Shock.

Two news reporters from the the local area are recording the whole thing. The camera man points the camera towards Puff, an african teenage girl who is shooting puffs of smoke at nearby vehicles, causing them to disintegrate and explode.

"We're here at the downtown penitentiary for metahuman juveniles." The reporter says to the cameraman. "as you can see, it's chaos here as the bang-babies reek havoc upon the civilians living here. We're not sure why they're doing this, nor how they escaped, but all I can say for now is stay away from this district! It's a war-zone here as authorities try to capture the bang-babies using these strange... weapons that seem to give them superpowers." The cameraman points the camera at a heavily armored police officer. He's shooting a web-like substance at an armadillo bang-baby from the barrel of his rifle. "No doubt this is the task force Alva spoke so highly about"

Just as the reporter was ready to turn back to the anchorman, the camera levitates out of the cameraman's hands. The camera points to a different african teenage girl who is hovering thirty feet in the air. "Static" The girl says facing the device, "We're waiting for you Static, we dare you to stop us." The camera cuts off as it instantaneously combusts..

XXX

For Virgil, the clock doesn't tick fast enough. He eagerly waits for class to end so that he can finish the exam another day. Unfortunately, it's only been five minutes.

For Richie and Hanabi, the test isn't a challenge. It had only asked for the terms they went over during class, which were easily implanted into both their minds. Within ten minutes, Richie and Hannabi were the first to hand in their exams.

As they do, Hanabi's beeper vibrates. It's an old police notifier from back during her superhero days. It let's her know whenever a bang-baby incident is occurring. Gear had it made to narrow down the city's crimes by priority. Hanabi was the only one that used it because she's the only one that could get herself and the others out of school during the day.

"Er, Mrs. Ryan" Hanabi says "may Richie and I be excused? There's a charity event at the downtown church, it sounds like they need some help."

Mrs. Ryan looks at the exams handed to her. To her delightful surprise, she sees that Richie and Hanabi have gotten all the answers correct.

Mrs. Ryan smiles up at Hanabi. "Well, if it's for charity, who am I to stop you two."

Hanabi bites lip with uncertainty for what she's about to ask. "Um... We're going to need Virgil to come with us."

The entire class begins to bark and cheer. "Oooooooooooooohhhh!" The students yell.

Mrs. Ryan and Hanabi both yell at the students, "Get back to work!". The students snap back to they're papers, Mrs. Ryan and Hanabi look at each other in unusual satisfaction.

Last year, rumors had arisen that Virgil and Hanabi were in a relationship. This was probably due to they're periodic absences because of they're superhero responsibilities. Similar rumors emerged with Richie when Shenice began enrolling in school. Even though both have tried to explained that the rumors aren't true, there's no doubt that the rumors will follow them through sophomore year.

Hanabi asks again. "So, um... can he come?"

One of the students chuckle at the comment. Hanabi grabs a stapler from the desk, and throws it at the student. Mrs. Ryan pretends not to notice.

Mrs. Ryan looks over at Virgil, she sees him tapping his head with his pencil, struggling on the exam. There's no doubt he wishes to be excused. She let's out a deep breathe, "Will this be a regular thing?"

A student still taking the test yells, "yeah, she, Virgil, Richie, and Shenice always got excused from class last year. They always say it's for charity, but I heard it's so they can-" The boy next to her covers the girls mouth.

"I was making shit up" He says, "I didn't actually mean it."

Hanabi walks up to the both of them. Her fists are clenched with fire filled eyes as she glares down at two of them. "Let the girl finish her sentence. I want to hear what she has to say."

The two students freeze in petrified fear. Before they can say anything, Mrs. Ryan intervenes. "That's enough Hanabi, the three of you can go."

Virgil jumps up from his seat. "Thank you!"

Hanabi still glares at the two students, ready to rip them to shreds at the right opportunity. Mrs. Ryan, however, calls Hanabi's attention, "But on one condition of course."

Hanabi let's go of her rage and turns her attention back at the teacher. "Hm?"

Mrs. Ryan continues, "if this is going to be a usual thing" She stares at Virgil "you three have to promise me you'll all pass this class. Understand?" The three students nod in agreement. "alright then, you're excused."

XXX

"You sure you wanna do this?" Gear asks Hanabi as she flies on his hoverboard.

"Every bang baby in the city is in one place waiting for you guys, you guys need my help."

Shenice is running under them, able to hear everything through her earpiece. "But you won't be able to take hits anymore, you might have some of Gear's gear, but you're a lot more vulnerable then you were two weeks ago."

Hanabi replies on her earpiece, the same models that Gear, She-bang, and Static have. "That's why I'm going to keep my distance. You guys do the fighting like you usually do, while I guide you through the fight from a birds eye view. Gear gave me his hover-board and some cloaking clothe, I won't be seen, but I'll still be able to watch your blind-spots. He also gave me some electric grenades in case of emergency."

Static talks, "We really should call hoop squad to lend you some tech"

Hanabi rolls her eyes, "You mean the _national bio-tech authority_? A.k.a, the NBA? Uh, not thanks, I like not wearing tights. Plus, my tech is real."

Gear and Static exclaim, "So is nanotech!"

She-bang laughs, "what? Tiny robots that give people powers? Working for the government disguised as basketball players? I'm the result of a government experiment, and even I don't believe that."

Static replies, "Alright fine, but next time Micheal Jorden comes and saves the city from man-eating ant-bots, you'll hear me say 'I told you so'."

Hanabi and She-bang chuckle at the sentence. _Really? Micheal Jorden? _

Before they can carry the conversation any further, they arrive to the prison district.

It was worse than what the reporter said, it wasn't a warzone, it was a wasteland. Every street sign and street vehicle was either crushed or burnt. The streets were cracked due to smashing, apartment complexes had wide holes in them due to crashing. Some bang babies were just fighting each other, maybe out of old gang grudges or sheer boredom. There weren't even any civilians anymore, just Bang-babies causing as much property damage as possible. The police were already subdued, tied up and being taken inside the prison where the wardens were being kept.

Static was the first to step into action, he used his powers to cover an electric blanket over the entire district floor, causing all villains to magnet into the floor.

Next was she-bang, she literally sprung into action. She jumped in the middle of the confusion to grab the police away from the criminals. After she untied them from they're chains, they picked up they're weapons ready to once again fight.

Gear used his backpack to send tiny drone missiles at the aerial metahumans. Instead of exploding on impact, the drones turn into electrical wire, tying and shocking the flying bang babies into submission. With this single surprise attack from the three of them, they were able to subdue half the bang-babies that were causing the trouble. And unbeknownst to the criminals, Hanabi was hovering sixty feet in the air, invisible, coordinating the entire attack.

"Static, electric cannonball where She-bang is standing, Gear, shoot homing rockets at Static, She-bang, on three, jump." Without question, they did as they were told.

As Static flew towards She-bang with electrical aura covering his body, Gear shoot homing missiles at static, She-bang simply waited for the signal. Unbeknownst to She-bang, and four golem sized bang babies and an army of replay clones await at every corner ready to ambush her. She-bang simply holds still in crouching position, trusting in Hanabi's plan.

Just as the bang-babies are ready to jump her, Hanabi yells "Three!". And with that, She-bang jumps to the nearest building, mere seconds before her attackers attempt to tackle her. With the bad guys pile drived into nothing, Static takes his cue and hammers right in the center of the criminals. With the buildup in electricity, an purple explosion ensues, causing all the nearby villains to fall unconsious.

As the explosion emitted from static, Gear wondered he was ordered to shoot missiles at him. To gears surprise, the answer was given when he say Puff and Madelyn on the floor, struggling to get up. Puff and Madelyn were planning to use She-bang to draw Static out. Hanabi predicted that they would come, and so she ordered Gear to fire at Static, so that when they revealed themselves, the missiles would hit them instead of Static.

With half the bang-babies unable to fight, as well as the most powerful ones subdued, the Alva task force was able to capture and arrest the rest of the bang-babies. Although some continued to fight, it was obvious that law enforcement had won today.

Hanabi looks down at the scene. She watches as the authorities shoot glowing webbing at the remaining villains. They struggled, but couldn't fight the new police technology. "alright guys, help out the authorities now, I'm going to the church so that they'll _actually_ believe we were doing volunteer work."

Gear replies, "Over and out command, thank you for the assist"

Static says, "what he said, we couldn't have done it without you Hanabi."

Shenice says, "Agreed, there probably would've been casualties if it weren't for you, thank you."

Hanabi isn't one to take compliments so easily, so without a word, she flew off. Or at least she was about to, until she noticed a blue flame at the corner of her eye.

She looked down, it was young man, lean, wearing black jumpsuit and blue flaming hair. He was standing next to a swat vehicle, with his two hands glowing with blue fire. Hanabi looked at him, under his jockey gas mask, she could see his eyes staring back at her. They weren't eyes, they blue candle flames that could be seen through the goggles.

For a moment, Hanabi couldn't stop staring. In complete silence without movement or communication, they looked at each other. No words could describe the uneasy feeling this man gave to Hanabi. Strangely though, this exchanging of glances only lasted four seconds. For after that, the man lifted his blue flaming hand and turned it towards the toddler walking the sidewalk.

Hanabi didn't hesitate. She pushed her hover-board into max speed and flew towards the child. Her cloak dissipated as she flew. _I was cloaked and he saw me? _The man launches a blue fire stream at the boy, it lights up the entire alleyway with blue light, causing the other heroes and police to turn they're heads towards it's direction. By the time they see what's happening it's too late, they see Hanabi pushing the child away from the fire, causing her to take the full force of the flaming stream. It pushes her back. No scream, no struggle, she simply plops to the floor like a rag doll dropped by an careless child.

"Hanabi!" Shenice yells.

With that, the flaming haired man reveals himself from behind the swat truck. Without a word, he launches a flame at Static. Static is quick enough to create a shield over himself. To his surprise, the flames are massive as they spread all around his energy dome. "You guys get Hanabi, I'll take care of him!"

Shenice and Gear nod, and leave Static's side. The masked man notices this, he re-aims his gloves towards them, but Static stops him from shooting. He fires a bolt at him, which slips down his rubber suit. "What's wrong? Bored of me already? Huh! I'm offended!" Static teases.

The man turns his attention away from the other two, and focuses on Static. All the other police leave the area, they can tell by the look of this... monster that he won't be subdued as easily as the other meta-humans, if it even is human.

Shenice and Gear head towards Hanabi. Horror strikes them as they see an ash burnt face under her black hair.

With her hands covering her mouth, Shenice asks, "Oh my God, is she?"

Gear gets backpack to scan her body. "No, she's not, but not even a hospital will be able to help her. Shenice, go check if the boy she saved is alright, he probably has burns from being so close to the heat."

"But, what are you going to do? You said a hospital can't help her."

Gear takes out a syringe needle from his backpack. Backpack then proceeds to fill it with a purple liquid. "It can't." Gear replies. "But this will."

Shenice's eyes widen in shock. "Gear, you're not going to-"

"I have to Shenice, it's the only thing that can save her life."

Shenice shakes her head. "But she hated her powers! She couldn't even touch people because of how strong she was! Do want her to go through that again!?"

Gear answers. "No, I don't. But if she isn't saved here and now, she'll never be able to hold anyone else anyway."

An image crosses Shenice's mind, an image of Shenice having to go to her funeral, and the idea of a burnt crisp body buried six feet under a grave.

Shenice swallows deeply, "alright... do it."

Gear nods. "I was serious about the kid though."

Shenice runs to the toddler.

Static fights off the blue flamed mystery man. "Let me guess, Hotstreak's brother-in-law?"

The man laughs in a distorted voice (No doubt due to the mask). The creature replies "Call me Nyon"

"Nyon?" Static replies, "buddy, you don't seem like the type of person to go to the rave"

Nyon launches another flame at Static, Static now hovering in the air, is dodging every attack while making sure the flames don't cause any collateral damage. "Now, are you sure you aren't Hostreak? I could've sworn we've been through this before"

Nyon points at Static, "Behind you."

Static looks up, he sees the flames previously shot coming back from all angles like boomerangs. He replies, "I see you've learned some new tricks Hotshot, but for the record, I've always been a star at dodge-ball" With that said, Static dodges and out maneuvers every blue flame balls with ease. Even as Nyon starts shooting at him again, a hit couldn't be made at the flying teenager.

"Alright," Nyon said. "Time to even the playing field."

Nyon launches a stream of fire at the ground. The flames engulf the streets, torching anything that hasn't been destroyed. It lifts Nyon in the air, right towards Static.

"Since when could Hotstreak fly?" Static tries outmaneuvering him. Before he can fly out of the way, Nyon headbutts Static in the chest, causing him to fall off his saucer. Before he hit the ground, She-Bang catches him.

"You alright?" She asks.

Static grabs his chest in pain, "Gear made my clothes fire-proof, and I still feel the burn. This guy's no Hotstreak, he's tougher."

Before more could be said, Nyon launches a large firestream in the air. It falls back down spreading, causing the entire district to rain blue fire drops.

"Get under something!" Static yelled. With that, She-bang quickly pulls him into an open swat vehicle.

"We need a plan now!"

And like magic, they're wish came true.

"Static, are you there?"

Static listens to his ear piece, "Hanabi? Is that you? Are you alright?"

On the other line, Hanabi nods. She and Gear are hiding in a dumpster in an alleyway, protecting themselves from the falling fire. "I have a plan, how high do you think you can fly?"

Static yells over the clanking noises from the fire drops hitting the vehicle. "I'm not sure if I can right now, I got burnt pretty badly."

Hanabi replies, "can you do it or not?"

Static squeezes his chest. "I don't thinks so, I'm in a lot of pain right now" It was no exaggeration. Virgil could feel his heart beating irregularly, his chest felt numb as he was losing his breathe quickly, was it the pain or the panic?

"Hold on" Hanabi said.

Nyon continued to shoot the flames down upon the district. He laughed disgustedly as he did so. He was having so much fun that he almost didn't notice the metal dumpster being lifted across the walkway.

"What the hell?"

Before Nyon could react, the dumpster flies into the air slamming straight into Nyon's body. The rain stops, though fires ensue. While Nyon is distracted, Hanabi runs into to the car Static is in.

"Hanabi, did you just?" without another word, Hanabi puts an electric granade in Static's hand.

"Now heal." She demands.

Static does as he's told and drains the grenade of it's power. He feels his flesh wound regenerate as his heart beat stabilizes. Confidently, Static stands up, fully charged, and ready to fight. "What's the plan?"

Hanabi points to the sky. "Fly as high as you can, and make sure Nyon shoots lots of fireballs into the sky. Gear is flying over to the power plant to vamp up electricity in this area. As soon as it starts to rain, hit him with everything you've got."

Static asks, "How are you sure it'll rain?"

Shenice answers the question, "because heating up the sky causes condensation. Condensation causes clouds to form. When heavy clouds form, thunder forms"

Hanabi nods her head. "Static, you are going to _control thunder_, can you handle that?"

Static smiles, no doubt the thought of this plan thrills his superhero ego. Static grabs a garbage bin lid and hops onto it. "What, controlling lightning or going high? Either way, I can handle both." And with that, Static bolts out of the truck, literally.

Shenice stares at Hanabi with a concerned look on her face. "Listen, Hanabi-"

"You and I are going to grab some tether poles and wrap them around Nyon. I think my aim has gotten rusty, so you'll have to do most of the work now."

"Sure, but listen-"

"Not now Shenice, right now we have to stop Nyon before he causes any more property damage."

Shenice drops the subject. Every part of her wants to apologize for helping her regain her powers. Sure, it saved her life, but Shenice knows better than anyone that Hanabi hated her powers. She couldn't play sports, had trouble holding utensils, closing doors, _lifting CDs_. Everywhere Hanabi went, her powers made her a walking disaster. She had to stop doing volunteer work because of them. The thought of Hanabi having to go through all of that again made Shenice shutter with guilt.

"Um, Ok. One question though, where did you get this idea from?" Shenice asked.

Hanabi is surprised by the question, "Um, oceanography class. Didn't you pay attention in class? It seemed like it sense you knew the plan when I said it."

Shenice throws her head back and laughs. "I thought you got it from Naruto!"

Hanabi's jaw drops. "Wha? They did this in that show?"

Shenice continues to laugh. "For a second, I thought you liked anime!"

Hanabi crunches her lips in disgust. "ugh, I feel so stupid now. I hate anime."

"It always surprises me when you say that. Y'know, because your-"

"Shut up. Now let's get back with the plane."

Shenice nods, and they both jump out of the car.

By now, Static has already taken the fight to the lower part of the atmosphere. Storm clouds begin to unite, but this doesn't stop Nyon from attacking relentlessly.

"What's wrong Static? Afraid to hit?"

Static continues taunting him. "Believe me, if I wanted to hit you I would, unlike you."

Nyon draws up more fire and relentlessly shoots it in all directions. Static easily dodges every one of them. It's obvious that Static has much better maneuverability in the air. He spins and glides in the air like a lightning bullet, and Nyon knows this. Nyon changes his tactics and focuses all his fire into his feet, making him travel faster in an attempt to catch Static. Static plays around with this as he side glides every time Nyon charges at him. He yells "olay" with each successful evasion.

She-bang and Hanabi collect telephone poles around the area. After each of them collected four, Hanabi asks She-bang to wait for gear.

At the center of the city, Gear uses backpack to hack into the power grid. "Hanabi, I got into the grid, tell me when you're ready."

Hanabi nods, "Sure thing. At the first sign of thunder, we strike."

Gear asks, "Is all of this really necessary? It's just one guy."

Hanabi replies, "He has a rubber suit which nullifies most of Static's attacks. If any of us try to get close to him, he'll burn us to a crisp. We have to rely on Static, and the only way Static can hurt him is if we vamp up his energy."

Shenice asks, "But won't his y'know... kill him?"

Hanabi hesitates to give an answer. "He tried to kill a toddler just to get my attention. Whoever this is, he's worst than Hotstreak. I think his death would save more lives than it's worth. But to answer you're question, I don't know. Technically, lightning doesn't kill most people, he has a better chance of entering a coma, or getting some nerve damage than dying. But overall, there's still chance that he'll..."

Before Hanabi could finish, the first thunder strike was heard.

Hanabi talks into the ear piece, "Is everyone ready with the plan?"

She-bang, Gear, and Static nervously nod in agreement.

"Alright Static, Catch!"

With that, Hanabi and She-bang throw the tether poles high into the startosphere, just far enough for Static to catch. He uses them to form an electric fence around himself and Nyon.

"I know what you're planning" Nyon says, "It's not gonna work."

Nyon proceeds to fire at the tether poles.

Down at ground level, half the power in the city is rerouted away from the antenna pole that lies right below Nyon. Static raises his hands shoots a stream of lighting into the air. That stream of lightning returns back to Static ten-fold. With his body almost ready to burst, he instantly passes the circuit into the surrounding tether poles. Causing the tether poles to connect with electricity, shocking everything within it's circle. With that, both Static and Nyon feel the electricity curse through they're vessels, though Nyon is the only one shouting in pain.

"ARGH!" Nyon yells. Static, with his pain being only mild, manages to re-direct the energy into the ground antena, causing several nearby lights to flicker on. Although the attack only lasted five seconds, it was enough to cause Nyon to drop from the sky.

"I got it!" She-bang yells, ready to jump.

"No you don't" Hanabi steps in front of her and jumps up to Nyon. She catches him before he hits the ground, landing on the tall building nearby.

Her hands burned when she touched him but she ignored the pain. Hanabi looks down at him, desperate to unmask this new villain. "No way you're Hotstreak."

Hanabi puts her hand on his mask, just as she's about the pull it off, fire comes out from underneath it. Hanabi jumps back. "What the hell?"

The rubber suited man limply stands up, his body sparking with electricity. "This was your plan wasn't it? Next time, I'll make sure you don't survive"

And with that, he spirals fire from all directions, causing Hanabi to cover behind a roof fan. When the fire dissipates, Nyon disappears.

Hanabi looks over from the half melted fan. "No way that was Hotstreak..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Night 1: Payday**

"_This is how fires begin. Little men with big dreams. Long memories. Short imaginations and shorter fuses. And too much time and opportunity. Fires start in the funniest places."_ _- Slade Wilson_

Alva industries is, and always was, considered Dakota City's last beacon of hope. As the nation's leading industry in genetic research, Alva industries has accomplished more medical research than Wayne and Luther industries combined. It provides funding for three-fourths of the city's work force and is considered the only solution for the bang baby epidemic.

XXX

Kitty climbs up one of the Alva industry research facilities. The guards are too busy adjusting to their new uniforms to notice her. Even though her light brown tail, cat ears, and bright pink hair would make her stick out in daylight, her enhanced senses help her evade any patrols that pass by.

"Hound?" The girl asks, speaking into her ear piece. "Are you there?"

On a crosswalk away from the research facility, a fully developed brunette sits on the street casually strumming a guitar. She sways her blue hair away from her earrings and speaks into the radio piece. "Just waiting for you babe." She replies.

Kitty reaches the top of the building, "I'm about to enter, keep the guards busy while I kill the cameras."

Hound nods, "Sure thing kitten." Hound stands up and slowly walks towards the building. The night hides her approach for awhile. After reaching a few feet from the gate, two guards catch her approaching.

"Hey!" one guard yells. "You're not allowed here! Especially with curfew I effect!"

The threats don't stop Hound from walking forward, until they raise their weapons at her.

"This is a restricted area, leave now or we will have the authority to arrest you!"

Hound bites her pierced lips, before she can open her mouth, the guards interrupt her.

"We said leave now or we will use force to evict you from the area!"

Hound roll her eyes. The thought of men thinking they have power bores Hound. She takes a seat from where she stands and starts tuning her guitar. She ignores the guards while she readies herself for a song.

The first guard says to the other, "Mikey, get her out of here."

He replies, "But we're not allowed to do anything unless they attack."

"Then get her to attack."

Mikey nods, and walks up to hound.

"Oiy" Mikey says, "get your fat ass out of here before we-"

Hound snaps a glare at the guard. By the time he notices it, Hound plucks a string on the guitar, emitting a sound wave that sends him flying into the air.

"Shit!" The other guard says. He takes out his radio and yells, "all units towards the east entrance, we have a bang baby breach, I repeat, we have a bang baby breach at the east wing entrance!"

Kitten watches as the guards move to hounds position. Taking this as a signal, she sneaks into one of the vents and climbs into the building. After quickly passing through the security lasers, she reaches her goal at the bottom level of the building. It's a vault, standing twenty feet in diameter, it's nearly indestructible from the outside. Kitten doesn't have the brute strength to open it, but fortunately she has other means to do so.

She takes out her ipod from her waist and connects it to the control panel that's on the vault's side. She scrolls through her music folder and opens the folder labeled "Hugo". She clicks upload.

An alarm sounds, water vapor is shot into the hallways. The vault knob opens itself, revealing several layers of vault doors. As each vault door opens itself, Kitten steps through the corridor with a wide grin on her face.

_Success._

The last door opens. Kitten knew what to expect. A large room with computer screens and bang baby tanks. Files on the crimes Alva industries are ashamed of. An untouched room too valuable to discard. It was everything she expected, it had everything plus more. That one more thing, however, was something she's been trying to avoid for a very long time.

He had a gas mask on, but his flaming red hair was distinguishable enough. As soon as the door opened, they stared at each other in silence.

"Kitten?" Hotstreak said. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Hostreak. He wore his usual baggy pants with a red t-shirt. Although his gas-mask was supposed to hide his face, Kitten knew there was rage under the mask's goggles.

Kitten purses her lips. "Uh... Hi Francias... Long time no see..."

"_Long time no see?_" Hotstreak flames up his hands. "You stole my airship and that's all you have to say? _Long time no see?_"

Kitten raises her hands in defense and backs away slowly. "Oiy, You're the one who was hitting on my girlfriend."

Hotstreak yells, "_You_ were hitting on-"

Before Hotstreak could finish his sentence, his ear piece spoke. "_Calmas Francias_, give her the chemical"

Hotstreak replies, "_this_ is your contact? You gotta be kidding me. Why the hell would '_the man who the bat_' work with cat-girls? You got some fetish you're not telling me?"

The man on the other line replies, "Muchos vezes, the ends justify the means. Now give her the vapor, and help her cover her escape."

He looks at the opened briefcase on the shelf next to him. Inside are sixteen test tubes filled with a purple liquid. He glares at Kitten, sending shivers down her spine. Grudgingly, Hotstreak closes the briefcase and walks over to Kitten.

Kitten mumbles, "Look, I don't like this either, but I've got a job to do, so just give me the stinking case."

Kitten reaches for the briefecase. Upon contact, however, Hotstreak burns it into a pile of ash.

"What the hell?" Kitten exclaims.

Hotstreak laughs. "New deal, I'll get you the quantom vapor, if you give me back my airship."

On Hotstreak's earphone Bane yells, "Francis! Now is not the time for your petty grudges! The vault can only stay opened for thirty minutes before the alarms go off! Give her the serum now!"

Hotstreak replies, "Not now Bane. I might work for you, but I'm not your servant. This bitch has pissed me off in more ways than one. So if we're gonna have to work together, it'll be on _my_ terms. You got that, _Kitten_?"

Kitten glares back at Hotsreak. "What kind of terms?" She asks.

Hotstreak answers, "You heard me the first time. I want my airship back."

Kitten purses her lips again.

"What's that with that look on your face?" Hotsreak asks.

Kitten replies, "Er... Me and Hound... Kind of..."

Underneath the mask, Hotstrak's eyes widen. "I spent a month painting that thing. Painting it with paint I didn't steal! What the hell did you do to it?"

Kitten replies, "It wasn't entirely our fault. Y'see, batman was after us and he-"

"Batman!" Hotstreak yells. "what did you do!?"

Kitten yells, "_We_, didn't do anything! We were just taking a joyride when batman decided to attack us!"

"Bullshit! You pissed him off didn't you?"

Kitten crunches up her face. "Well... maybe it was during a robbery..."

"Damnit!" Hotstreak yells while launching a fireball at the nearby computer. "Where is it now?"

Kitten lowers her head in shame. "um... at the bottom of a lake..."

Hotstreaks jaw dropped. He wraps his hands around his head,"A lake... of course it had to be a lake..."

"Focus Francias." Bane said through the microhpone. "You're the only one that can condense the quantom vapor from a gas to a liquid. You must now heat up one of the gas tanks, and hand it to her for the extraction point."

Francis forcefully nods. He grabs one of the small quantom tanks and heats it up in his hand. After it reaches the right temperature, he tosses it at Kitten. Kitten catches it, but instantly let's go of it due to the heat.

"Ow!" she yells in pain. Hotstreak laughs. "Asshole" She yells.

She rips off a piece of her of her leg ware and wraps it around the tank. She cuddles it in her arms and heads out the vault. As she leaves, she hears Hostreak yell, "Feel lucky I need to get paid! Next time, you won't get off so easy!"

Kitten heads out the building. She talks into her ear piece. "Hound? Are you alright?"

XXX

Hound hides behind one of the parking lot swat vans. The guards have her cornered and fire plasma shots at her. Each blast slowly chips away at the vehicle. A broken guitar sits next to her as she tries to bandage wrap the wound on her arm.

"Not really." Hound says casually over the loud clanking noises of gunfire. "Those guys broke my guitar. Where the heck am I supposed to find a new one?"

Kitten asks, "Where are you hound? Are you able to channel your vibrations through your voice?"

Hound sighs. "I'm in the parking lot at south gate. And, no, I can't. I've never been a very good singer."

"Sweetie" Kitten says, " if you know what's good for you, you'll stay alive until I get there."

Hound leans her head back on the van. The van is smoking as the guards yell to keep on firing. Hounds slides down on the ground and takes out a bottle of green tea. "I think I can do that." Hound takes a sip from her bottle.

"alright." Kitten says. "I'll be there in five minutes."

Hound smiles. "Five minutes. That's not enough time for me to finish this."

XXX

Hotstreak heads out the building.

"Francis, get back there and help them escape."

Hotstreak replies, "I've done my part. I'm not helping those two."

Bane replies, "You heard their transmission, Kitten will die trying to save Hound. You must make sure the gas reaches extraction point, or neither of us will get paid."

Francis chuckles, "Pay doesn't seem too important now that I think about it."

The other line goes quiet. Francis lifts an eyebrow, he pokes at the earpiece half expecting it to be broken. "Hello?".

Bane replies, "Very well Francis. If you cannot swallow your pride to achieve your goals, I understand. It has been a pleasure working with you." The other line goes dead.

Francis takes out the earpiece, he looks at it and burns it. From where he stands, he can hear the gunfire shots from the parking lot. He doesn't care if those two die, but a part of him is boiling. "_If you cannot swallow your pride to achieve your goals, I understand". _Was that an insult? Was he calling him stupid? Either way, Hotstreak was steaming angry, and he knew exactly who to take it out on.

XXX

The smoking van is now on fire. It would only be a matter of seconds before it instantaneously combusts. Hound frantically chugs down the last of her green tea, wasting no time to finish her delicate drink.

She finishes and takes a deep breathe. After wiping her mouth she speaks into her earpiece. "Hey Kitten, I want you to know that I-"

The van explodes. Flaming shard pieces clatters its way across the parking lot. Grey and brown soot shrouds everyone's vision. The guards move closer to confirm the kill. One enters the wreckage to look for a casualty. Smoke fills the parking lot, they all change to they're night vision goggles.

"Is there a heartbeat?" One asks.

"No sir. But I can't even find a body. She couldn't have just disappeared". The guard looks behind him and sees a large ball of blue smoke jumping around the guards and knocking them out. "Behind you!" he yells.

The other guards turn around and try shooting and the ball of dust. The bullets don't faze it as it devours each of the guards, knocking them into the ground in a coma-like state.

The last guard left tries running away. Immediately, the smoke cloud reverts to Hotstreak and shoots a blue fireball at the guard.

Hotstreak yells, "you picked a bad day to pick a fight"

Hotstreak glances behind him and sees Hound lying on the ground, dizzy and confused. "What happened?" Hound asks, "Did I black out again?"

Hotstreak facepalms. "I teleported you away from the explosion. When I teleport though, you become a cloud of smoke for a few seconds. It's not something you get used to."

Kitten enters the parking lot and runs to her disoriented girlfriend. "Hound!" she yells running to her. "Don't ever do that again!" Kitten proceeds to hug and peck kisses at the confused girl. Hotstreak awkwardly walks away.

"Hold on." Hound says, angering Kitten as she pushes her away. "Why did you save me?"

Hotstreak continues to walk. "Because I gotta get paid, and I doubt Hugo will pay us if you two are dead."

Kitten was about to point out the flaw in Hotstreaks logic (Less people means more pay for the people left), but she knew now wasn't the time to anger him. Instead she was grateful, and only wanted to cherish every second she had with Hound.

Hound let out a soft smile as Hotstreak walked away. Hotstreak was also smiling. With his mask on and his back turned, he made sure they wouldn't know it. Looking up at the stars, he couldn't help but wonder if this is how always Static feels. The feeling of priding oneself in accomplishment without the demand of compensation. _ I wonder what he does for a living?_ Hotstreak lets his mind wonder. He lets it wonder until it gets heavy. So heavy that he can't pick himself up.

"Francis!" Hound yells. Hotstreak collapses to the floor. He tries to pick himself up but the world around him becomes a blur. It fazes in and out until it becomes so black he can't even see the stars above him. "Help him!" He hears Hound yell. Hotstreak half opens his eyes. To his confusion, he sees Ebon hovering over his half-conscious body.

He feels Ebon strangling him. "You thought you could get rid of me that easy? You thought I wouldn't come back for you?"

Hotstreak fights to breathe, but he fights the only way he knows how.

"Argh!" He yells, while dispersing a wave of fire. As he does, he hears a girlish shriek.

Hound lies on the floor, twitching from burns.

"What the hell did you do!?" Kitten yells.

Hotstreak sits up. "Wha?"

Kitten pounces at Hotstreak. Hotstreak, unsure what to do, launches another flame cloud to push Kitten away. Her screams of agony are that of frustration and pain. He limply stands up and looks at the two damaged teens. _They're not Ebon_. Hotstreak backs away slowly, but the headaches instantly return. He can still hear someone in his head. "_I'm alive Francis, and I'm coming for you". _He launches fire in all directions, hitting every vehicle around him. "Get out of my head!" He yells.

A helicopter shoots it's spotlight at Francis. "You are trespassing a restricted area, do not resist or we will use deadly force against you."

Franics still can't shake out Ebon's voice, the spotlight only blinds him enough so he can no longer see him. "You want me! Over my dead body." He fires a flame at the helicopter. The helicopter shoots hose water through it and into Hotstreak. More vehicles with hoses pull up into the parking lot. With all the noise and violence, Kitten and Hound quietly make their escape.

Hotstreak continues to fight. To the authorities making the arrest, it's just a bang baby that's gone nuts. To Hotstreak, it's him verses an army of Ebons.

XXX

Hotsreak wakes up on a medical bed. "hmmm... What happened?" He tries to get up, but can't because of the leather straps tying him down. "What's going on!" He yells while trying to struggle out of the bed. "Do you have any idea who I am? You really think these can hold me down!"

Hotstreak flames his arms up. The straps don't burn nor melt, they stay intact even in the extreme temperatures.

Before Hotstreak can drag on his efforts, Edwin Alva enters the medical room.

"I see your still willing to destroy other people's property."

Hotstreak yells, "Now hold on, you still owe me for helping your son! Now get me out of here and we'll call it even!"

Edwin Alva walks to the table next to him. He takes the small cylinder tank that was placed there. "Quantom Vapor" he says while lifting it up. "The most dangerous gas on the planet. A poison that makes people as dangerous as meta-humans." He holds the cylinder next to Hotstreak's face and glares at him. "And you were planning to sell it?"

Hotstreak smirks. "What can I say? A man has to make a living."

Alva rubs his eyebrows. _I don't have time for this. _He places the cylinder back on the table and faces back to Hotstreak. "Y'know I could just place you back in a maximum secuirty prison?"

Hotstreak grins. "But you're not going to because I helped your son."

Alva shakes his head. "No, I'm not going to. But not because you saved my son, but because your dying"

Hotstreak's eyes widen. "What?"

The bed Hotstreak is strapped to tilts towards a television screen. The screen turns on to x-rays of Hostreaks brain. It shows purple marks on the northern part of his cerebrum.

Alva speaks, "The effects of Quantom vapor vary subject to subject. Although it rarely effects the brain, when it does, one of two things can occur. Either you gain heightened brain activity, like that superhero gear. Or you gain a random brain anomaly, like what you have."

Hotstreak blankly stares at the screen dazed and confused.

Alva sighs. "Your definitely not Gear."

"Then what am I doctor? Your the expert here, tell me what's wrong with me."

Alva takes in a deep breathe. "You have Schizophrenia Francis, and possibly a developing tumor. If you don't take the proper precautions now, your mind will deteriorate until your nothing more than a frozen vegetable."

Hotstreak laid quietly for a moment. _Schizo what? Is that why I keep seeing Ebon? _What concerned Hotstreak more was the tumor. The thought of dying wasn't something that thrilled him. But all at the same time, a question has been buzzing in his head. "Why are you helping me?" He asked.

Alva turns the screen to a news channel. An anchorwomen stands in front of the police station as Edwin Alva hands a large check to the police chief. "Today," The women spoke, "Edwin Alva has given a ten million dollar donation to the police station. There's no doubt that this will help aid the city against the rising threat of bang babies. With this act of kindness alone, Alva's approval rating has gone up by ten points, putting him ahead of all his campaign opponents. With only three weeks until city elections- "

Alva turns off the T.V. "I'm going to become mayor." He says bluntly. "And I'm going to need your help to do it"

Hotstreak laughs. The thought of helping a politician cheat his way to the top reminds Hotstreak that rich and broke people are all the same. "You can't win an election honestly after all!"

"Not quite." Alva replies. "I'm assembling a task force that exists solely for the purpose of capturing other Bang babies. I need you to be the first member of this team."

Hotstreak lifts an eyebrow. "Question is, what's in it for me."

Alva takes out a small bottle of purple pills. Without smiling, he replies, "Simple, I keep you alive."

"Pffff." Hotstreak says while spitting in Alva's direction. "Living isn't a goal for me. If you want me to work for you, you'll have to do better than that."

"Well" Alva says surprisingly, "You'll of course be paid for your work, these pills are cheap after all. You'll even have a large apartment suite, courtesy of Alva industries."

This catches Franci's attention. "An apartment suite? Free of no charge?"

"That's right"

"Can someone else stay with me?"

Out of curiosity, Alva asks "Who did you have in mind?"

Hotstreak replies, "My sister"

XXX

Something the public doesn't know is that it was Alva industries that released the plague in the first place. Underneath all the lab coats and charity events, Alva industries exists to study the biology of meta-human genes. The big bang was a result of years of research forcefully blown into unwilling subjects. The result of extracting DNA from mutated plants and animals, and rewriting the human DNA to create new, _superior _humans. It worked, but is considered too unstable to be called a success. They got the test subjects they needed, but the result was new threat that no amount of authority could handle.

XXX

**Author's Note: Hotstreaks sister isn't exactly made up. During the episode "Romeo in the Mix", Hotstreak asks Romeo for an autograph. When Romeo lifts an eyebrow, Hotstreak retracted by saying "It's for my sister". Now, we aren't sure if he said this because he meant it, or it was just to save himself from some embarressment. Either way, I feel giving Hotstreak a sister gives him some... idk... humanity? Idk, I just like adding to the story! I hope you guys are ok with that, I know adding characters random family is a bit cliche in fanfictions, but I hope I'll be able to justify it. :)**


End file.
